Can I still be your friend?
by Dee Rhymz
Summary: Billy and Mandy are 15 years old and people are questioning their relationship. Meanwhile Mandy has been acting rather awkward.
1. Billy

_I don't understand Mandy, she's such a weirdo sometimes. I mean, last week I maded these awesum 3D Valentine cards for everyone in the neighborhood and in our class, and they all liked it except for Mandy. Even Mindy liked my card and tried to light the paper candle I pasted into it. Mindy can be so funny sometimes, she didn't even realize it wasn't a real candle, hahaha._

_But Mandy threw it in the trash right away, and so she did with Irwin's plasma TV. We still don't know why she didn't like our gifts._  
_I guess she doesn't like trampled heartshaped bathroom-spiders and big televisionses._

_But what I really hate is people calling Mandy my gurlfriend. She's just a friend who happens to be a gurl, but nobody listens to me._


	2. Mandy

_Something people always expect is that two friends, when being of the opposite sex, are bound to get together. Meaning they'll end up having a relationship, or worse, get married._  
_I never believed this kind of nonsense, and I don't see how I will now. I don't let myself get brainwashed by what people say:_

_"Aww, look at you two!"_

_"You look so cute together!"_

_"What did you do on Valentine's Day?"_

_Yuck. Valentine's Day. I'm glad it's over, and I'm also glad it didn't get to Billy. Not more than usual, anyway._  
_Billy and I always tell these idiots we're just **friends**, but it never seems to go through their thick skulls. No news there; people only hear what they want to hear. I stopped bothering, but Billy's on a replay, so you hear the sentence "MANDY'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND" multiple times a day coming from different locations. I told the doofus to just shut up about it and to ignore them, but it was foolish of me to think that he could._

_Grim also joined the crowd lately, and now literally **everybody** addresses me as "Billy's girlfriend" and Billy as my "boyfriend"._


	3. Grim

_Billy and Mandy, the devil's offspring._  
_Not dat I care about dem children, but I noticed dat Mandy has been rather protective over the little dunce dese few years. She always was in a way, but well, dey are not small children anymore; dis kind of behaviour is going to take dem somewhere, you know? To be honest, I tink Billy is too stupid to make any kind of move on her, and Mandy is too proud to even tink about having a relationship with any boy._

_But if you care about the future's wellbeing, you should only be happy if dese monsters will never get together, just tink of the horror dey'd unleash when deciding to reproduce._

_I tink horror will get unleashed sooner or later anyway, Mandy has been "plotting" alot in her room. Oh, why won't dese kids just die so I can go home?_


	4. The First Day of Summer Vacation

Valentine's Day is one of those days where "potentional couples" get bothered by their surroundings. Luckily for Mandy that day was now far behind, and Summer Vacation would officially start as tomorrow.  
Billy will be send to Summer camp, so this would be her best vacation yet; nobody to pester her about their "relationship", and it's one moron less to take care off. She would be able to use these months to work on her _projects_ in peace.  
Billy already started packing when coming home from school, as the bus would be there soon to pick him up. With alot of struggle Grim and Mandy found it in their hearts to go outside to wave him goodbye.

"...And when I return I'll be 15, isn't that just funny?" Billy yelled in excitement.

"That's what camp does with you, it sucks your life away." Mandy said in a most serious tone.

"If it sucks my life away, then why does a year get added to it everytime I come back?"

"Billy.." Mandy said, "That doesn't make sense, I am not even going to answer that."

"Now get lost already, you bignosed freak" Grim said, and went back inside to watch Will & Grace on the television. Obviously he was even less interested in the conversation.  
Billy came closer to Mandy with the intention to give her a hug, but she pushed him away before he could do so.  
"Hey, what's the meaning of this? You went to camp before, just go."

"But not all Summer..what if I get homesick, and Mandysick, and Grimsick?"

His once cheerful face turned sad. He loved camp, but he's never been away from Mandy's side longer than a day, the least.  
"..Maybe I should just stay here."

Mandy's eyes widened. "No no, go, you'll have a great time."  
No way doofus was going to ruin her plans, she thought.

"But what about my Grim-Mandy-homesickness?"

"I'll tell you what, Billy, why don't I let Grim visit you so now and then?"

"What in the..!" said a familiar voice from out of the house.

"You coming with?" Billy asked.

"No. If you have anything important to tell me or to give me, just hand it over to Grim."

Mandy told him that she was too busy to hang out with him at the moment, and surprisingly enough Billy understood and didn't start a racket about it. He was satisfied enough with the alternative Mandy suggested. Unlike somebody else.  
Billy entered the bus and waved like a maniac from behind the window. It was good for Mandy to see the simple minded boy was that easy to cheer up and to be off her back at the same time.

As expected Grim immidiately started complaining as soon Mandy entered the house: "I don't want to play homing pigeon dis vacation, they're showing reruns of me favourite shows, I don't want to miss any of it!"  
Of course she wasn't too interested in what he had to say and instead ordered him to paint the house. Just for the heck of it.  
Grim started mumbling to himself how "he agreed to be their best friend forever" and not their "best slave forever", but did it, nevertheless.

While he was out of her way, Mandy went upstairs to her room and locked the door. When looking at her cellphone lying on her nightstand, she noticed she had 80 new messages, all from Irwin.  
"I just bought this phone yesterday and activated it this morning, how did he get my number?"

Mandy was never too fond of following crazes, but since everybody in her class had a cellphone, Billy also purchased one and convinced her to get one, too. This was 2 years ago, though. But she thought it would be handy to have one. _Especially_ _now_.

She rolled her eyes, and deleted all the messages without reading them. Then she sat down on her bed and continued writing in some notebooks that were already there waiting for her on her pillow.**  
"..This year is going to be the start of The New Age."** she said to herself, and a satisfied, evil grin appeared on her serious face.  
"I finally have the opportunity to put my plans into practice. I've waited 15 years for this, it cannot fail..!"

Meanwhile Grim was watching her through the window with a concerned face.


	5. The First Day of Summer Camp

"Hiiiiiiiiiii Griiiiiiiiiiim, I maded this kewl rock out of twigs for Mandy, and this fungus hamburger for Mandy, and this squirrel underwear for Mandy, and tell Mandy that I miss her and that I'm busy making her a matching squirrel hat, and.."

Billy kept on stuffing Grim's arms with all sorts of awkward objects, not noticing Grim's entire body was already pulverized by the weight of the "gifts". Still Grim dared to ask him _why he didn't make him something_.

"Oh, sorry Grim. But I still get to see you this vacation, so I thought.."

"It's fine, boy, I understand Death doesn't beat a pretty face."

"What? No, it isn't like that!"

Grim decided to change the course of the conversation before Billy would go on his "MANDY IS NOT MY GIRLFRIEND"-rampage and started beating up everyone in sight. Again.

"So, you've been quite busy, and dis is just your first day of camp."

"Yeah, it's really fun here, we can do anything we want. I wish Mandy could be here."

"Well, dis is a boys camp, after all."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Concerning Mandy, not much."

Billy obviously enjoyed Grim's company, and tried to stretch time by giving him a tour of the camp, which turned into a tour of the entire forest, which turned into a tour of the whole town. Grim knew he was actually very lonely while he claimed not to be, but still didn't want to stay any longer since he didn't really had the need to meet with every rock they passed. And there was a comfy couch and a television set waiting for him at home.  
After a short while he was getting noticably fed up by his neverending tours and rants, but when Billy saw he was about to say goodbye, he quickly asked:  
"So, what's Mandy up to?"

This is one of those questions people ask with no thought.  
This is one of those questions people ask you frequently on MSN, and that way pretend to be interested in you. But they don't care about "what you're up to", it's a mere conversation-starter. But was he asking it just to keep him here, or was he really wondering?  
Because in this case the question had a serious answer to go with, but Grim wasn't sure if it really concerned him in any way. Even so, it wasn't like it would hurt him; if Billy's day would turn a bit brighter by these extra seconds of jibber-jabber, then Grim was willing to rat Mandy out.  
_..._  
Yet it stayed quiet. He didn't say anything, but was busy thinking to himself how to say it.  
Then after 10 long seconds Billy broke the silence:  
"She's up to no good, huh.."

This surprised Grim.  
Billy was _far_ from intelligent. The only reason he hangs out with the cold-hearted Mandy is because he simply doesn't see that she is cold-hearted. He describes her as "grumpy", but not "evil".  
How does he even know Mandy is able to be _up to no good_? He hardly knows what "good" and "bad" is. Next to that, he never payed attention to her sick obsession to take over the world, while it stared him in the face multiple times.

"Well, yeah." Grim began, "Yesterday the girl didn't leave her room once."

"Maybe she misses me, too?"

Ah. Figures. He felt rather stupid now, to think that Billy was actually able to observe.  
His mind was somehow never able to portray Mandy in any negative way. His look on "being up to no good" probably doesn't go further than putting a bucket of glue on someone's bedroom door.

"I don't tink so, Billy."

"Can you ask her when you's back?"

"Fine, okey, yes, can I go now den?" Grim said annoyed.

They said goodbye and Grim teleported away. When looking around, Billy noticed he was standing in a supermarket in New Jersey.  
"..A kickass tour that was!" Billy said cheerfully, and went to the nearest busstop to wait for a bus to bring him back to the camping site.


	6. Your Own Supplies

A couple of weeks passed, and Mandy still never left her room. Her parents were too scared to go check, and Grim was no longer able to look through her window since the curtains were now closed. He just heard her talking so now and then.  
It's not like this was the first time Mandy did something dubious, but this time it worried Grim.  
She tried to take over the world more than once when she was 10, but at one point she just stopped trying, and neither did she talk about it ever again. Untill now.  
She might have a very solid plan.

Next to the sudden plotting, Mandy has been keeping herself on a certain distance from Grim and Billy these 5 years, too. More than usual. Even though Billy never seemed to care about any of this, Grim feared the worst.  
It's strange for him to be afraid of something he isn't even certain of; what if she's simply no longer interested and is just polishing her nails right now? Most likely not, but still.  
He has always had a feeling for these kind of things, but what if he's wrong? It will only make him look silly if he'd barge into her room _demanding for answers_ when she's just reading comics.

He decided to no longer give any attention to the matter, he had better things to do. And he didn't see how this would be bad for him, **he's the Grim Reaper**, for Pete's sake, and he's already forced to be her and Billy's best friend forever. Can it really get any worse?

Mandy's parents, on the other hand, had more trouble ignoring this. She was still their daughter, and als long they lived under the same roof as her they were afraid and scared of anything she might be up to. Every day was a struggle to please Mandy. If you're doing it wrong, there won't_ be _another day.

"Mandy..? Mandy..!" Mandy's mother yelled from down the staircase, "Eh, don't you want..something to eat? Mandy?"

A simple "no" was heard from above, suggesting her mother to leave at once.  
Claire quickly walked away from the staircase and headed to the living room where she spotted Grim watching television.

"..Grim, can you check on her?"

"You're worried?" Grim replied.

"Worried about my own safety."

"Well, I'd like to, but...no wait, I wouldn't like to. Good day."

"Please, Grim, what if she's making some kind of doomsday device? Besides, those presents from Billy in the corner are starting to smell really bad...wouldn't she like to have them?"

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Grim laughed, "No."

"Then just use it as an excuse to get inside! Remember, if she blows up Earth there won't be any TV for you to watch."

That was convincing enough for Grim to at least dump the trash in Mandy's room, but **no way** he was planning to stay there to interview the girl. When being around Mandy he still feared for his immortal life. It's strange, but that's what Mandy does with you.  
Grim slowly walked upstairs with the giant amount of artwork. He never gave any of it to her since he figured out on his own she wouldn't be interested. Or even slightly flattered by it, for that matter. Really, underwear made of roadkill? Billy had a strange taste of presents to give a girl.  
Exhausted, he threw the enormous pile on the floor next to her bedroom door, and knocked.  
"..Mandy? Mandy, are you still alive?"

That was a stupid thing to ask, _of course_ she was alive. He's the Grim Reaper; he would've noticed if she was dead.  
And it would be party time for him when that day comes. A delighted smirk appeared on his face, untill he woke himself from his beautiful daydream and focussed on Mandy again.  
"..Mandy, can I come in?"

"No." said a voice from the other side.

"But I have all dese gifts from Billy. He misses you very much, you know."

"I said no."  
This time the voice was sounding more threatening.  
But Grim continued, "Well, listen, you can't spend your entire Summer Vacation in your room. Nobody saw you come out for weeks. You are eating someting, are you?"

"I can assure you that I have my own supplies. Now go."

"But-"

"Grim, I'm counting to 3.."

Without a second doubt Grim rushed back downstairs and jumped behind the couch in fear. This conversation didn't make him much wiser, but it's like he promised himself: he didn't go upstairs to interview the girl.  
Besides, it's not like it matters that Mandy didn't want the gifts, he's been lying to Billy these past weeks, anyway:

_"Yes, of course Mandy liked it."_

_"Mandy says thank you."_

_"She said it was the best ting ever."_

He could lie a few weeks longer. So far he knew, Billy's been buying it, so what's the harm? He made Mandy look greater than she really is, and Billy loved it. If anything, he's too good for these kids!  
Without him their crippled "friendship" would've ended long ago. That's how he saw it.


	7. The Last Week of Summer Camp

"I don't want to go back anymore, I'll just stay here with you!"

Billy and Grim were sitting on a log next to what _tried_ to look like a campfire, most likely set up by Billy. Grim visited him early that day, mainly to bother him about his own problems than to listen to his stories or to accept any of his freshly made presents for Mandy.  
Not that Billy minded it that much, he was already happy with Grim coming to visit him.

"But didn't you say you was busy watching House on TV?" he asked.

"It's terrible!" Grim cried, "I don't know what that girl is up to, but I just feel the stress rising everytime I enter dat house. You can't have any normal conversation with dat girl, she's far from social! Yesterday I went upstairs to offer her some selfmade pudding, and she told me to suck it!"

"I'd like to suck your pudding, did you bring me pudding?"

"Billy, I'm trying to open up to you!" Grim yelled, "She's up to no good, and I tried to ignore it..but well..it's getting lonely.. and I just want someone to judge me cooking skills."

"Maybe she's crying in her room because she misses me so much."

Grim didn't even bother to answer that, it was an incredibly stupid comment. He gave Billy a dirty look and resumed his yammering.  
He went on till late in the night, and even though Billy really wanted to have a turn, he let him finish. While Grim's story made Mandy the obvious "bad guy", apparently it didn't occur to Billy since he asked him the very second he paused:  
"But Mandy misses me, right?"

Grim looked at him with big eyes. That's it. He thought it was time this boy knew the truth. But how was he able to put Mandy's evil into words that even Billy understood?  
..And why _should_ he even bother to "protect" him from the blonde menace? Well, he's dumb, but he's not a bad person. Mandy doesn't deserve a friend like him. And Mandy doesn't deserve a friend like Grim!

Grim cleared his throat, and slowly said:  
"Billy, Mandy is a witch."

"SHE CAN DO MAGIC TRICKS? CAN YOU ASK HER IF SHE CAN PULL A HAT OUT OF A HAT?"

"No, Billy.." Grim said, "She's like..dark seed."

"If we bury her, does she become a dark tree?"

"NO BILLY, Mandy is bad, dangerous, heartless, a person you should avoid, not befriend! Do you understand, Billy?"

Billy scratched his head, and a confused frown appeared on his face. Then he said:  
"Grim..I don't understand why you's suddenly telling me this. You were telling me about your swell vacation 5 seconds ago for 1728000 seconds long."

Grim started to lose it.  
"Don't you see I've been lying to you for almost 2 months now?"

"You didn't has a swell vacation?"

"Billy, listen man, I've been telling you all day how terrible Mandy's been to me and how she never left her room ever since vacation started! Dat is NOT a swell vacation. And she didn't want any of your gifts, she didn't want to hear any of your stupid stories, she doesn't miss you!"

"But Mandy misses me, right?"

Grim was clearly losing his patience. Mandy wasn't good company, but Billy wasn't any better to hang out with as was just proven. It disturbed him how nobody was ever willing to listen to him, or was just too stupid to have a normal conversation with.  
He was tired of being afraid and angry all the time.

"Listen..it's late, it's time for me to go back home."

"Did I say something wrong? I thought you wanteded to stay here with me."

"No, Billy. Your intelligence is testing my patience."

Grim stood up, summoned his scythe, and opened a portal back to Endsville.

"Grim, wait." Billy suddenly said.

Grim turned around.  
"What is it?"

"I know you lied."

"You do?" Grim said surprised.

"Yeah." Billy replied.

"You're not messing with me, are you?" he asked uncertainly.

"No.."

Grim closed the portal and sat back down on the log next to him. This might be another one of those moments were Billy ment something completely different, but he was ready to take another chance with the idiot.  
Though he wondered who was the real idiot in this picture. Maybe he should stop believing the the boy so much, he's pretty much a hopeless case.

"So." Grim began, "We're not talking about my vacation now, are we?"

"No, Mandy."

On the other hand, Grim thought.  
He dismissed his scythe, and put his hands on his lap.

"Well..?" he said.

Billy's eyes moved from Grim to the ground.  
"I know Mandy couldn't have liked any of my stuff, like you say. But I just wanteded to believe that she did..like you said."

This was rather a painful moment.  
Was it selfish of Grim to destroy the image of a person someone liked? It was. But on the other hand Billy claimed he already knew she didn't appreciate any of his gifts.  
He sighed, but didn't say a word, and waited for Billy to say something again.

Billy's eyes moved away from the ground, back to Grim again. They stared at each other for a little while, and then Billy said:  
"Can you ask her to be careful..?"

_To be careful_? Does Billy know more about Mandy's plans than anybody else? Grim wanted to ask him, but he already walked away and had entered a crappy version of a tent.  
It was no use to chase him; most likely he didn't want to talk about it anymore, anyway. But this could be used against Mandy, Grim thought.

He stood up and teleported back to Endsville. Whatever Mandy was doing right now, it had to wait, he wanted some clarification. Right now.  
"..And I so promised meself to ignore dis mess.." Grim said to himself, as he walked towards her front door. "I guess it's not in a _best friend's_ nature."


	8. The Last Week of Summer Vacation

Grim knocked on Mandy's door with loud fists.  
"Mandy? Open up at once, woman, what are you doing in dere? Mandy!"

"..Grim, you idiot, what's the meaning of this!" Mandy yelled.

Grim swallowed. Was it really such a good idea to approach her, she almost sounded bloodthirsty. And she should be, it's the middle of the night.  
But it was too late to go back now.

"Eh..Billy knows what you're doing, and I was just wondering...why I don't!" Grim said nervously.

It was typical for him to worry more about him being left out than about any possible danger. Of course Mandy scolded him for being a nuisance since this wasn't really worth bothering her about, what he understood and also regretted saying the very second after he did.

Then it stayed quiet. Grim used the silence to calm both him and Mandy down before asking any more questions, but then noticed the empty space next to her door where once the giant pile of gifts were. Did she actually take them inside?  
Couldn't be. She must've thrown them away while nobody was looking.  
..But let's say if she did, why would she throw it away _when nobody was looking_? She would've loved for everyone to see how she threw away millions of presents given by a "dear friend", right? But nobody saw her, and he never saw any of the presents lying in the trashcan. It was a strange thought, but not as strange as the thought of her actually accepting the disturbing junk.  
Finally Grim stopped pondering and tried to find the courage to knock on her door again, since the silence was taking too long.

"Come on, you've locked yourself up all Summer Vacation! Billy misses you and you're being a jerk! Open dis door!"

Nothing.

"You'll have to talk to me sooner or later."

Nothing.

"Billy is worried about you. He asks you to be careful."

Grim waited and waited, but nothing happened. He didn't hear a sound, not even the sound of breathing. Maybe she hung herself? Grim started smiling like a maniac and was being carried away by his daydreaming again, but since he sensed nothing she must've been alive. Too bad.

He was tired of waiting and had much doubt that Mandy would turn up any day soon, so decided to just leave her be. But right when he was about to leave, he heard the knob of the door being turned.

Grim stopped and saw how the door slowly opened. It was dark, but so far he could look inside the room everything was still clean and tidy.  
After the door was ajar, Mandy appeared. To his surprise she looked just as clean and tidy, while he never spotted her bathing even once all this time. Well, not that he had a habit of spying on Mandy taking baths, but you get the drift.  
She stared at Grim with her usual unsatisfied expression, but she didn't look like she was about to kill him, so he quickly said:

"Ah, well, dere you are, so wh-"

"Shut up." Mandy interrupted him. "Billy will come home soon. I have to prepare myself."

She silently walked past him and went downstairs. When she was out of sight, Grim dared to take a little peek inside of her room. But he spotted nothing unusual. Her room was still as pink as ever, and there was no sign of Billy's gifts in there, either. That means she must've disposed of them after all.  
There wasn't more time for him to inspect the room since Mandy was already coming back with a glass of orange juice.

She walked directly towards her room, said "Good night" and closed the door behind her.

"Eh..good night" Grim replied one minute later, and headed to his own room. He didn't know what that was all about, but he didn't care either, he was happy he got through unharmed. For now.


	9. Fishsticks

Mandy and Grim were both standing outside waiting for Billy's bus to arrive.  
Grim was filled with many questions, but knew Mandy wouldn't answer any of them, so didn't say anything. And neither did Mandy.  
It was a surprisingly sunny day for the month September, but neither Grim or Mandy looked like they were enjoying it.

Suddenly they heard an engine in the far distance, that was almost immediately overpowered by the sound of screaming and yelling. Billy was coming.  
As the bus came closer they heard that he was actually singing a song, but neither Grim or Mandy could determine what song he was singing, or if it was in decent English. As soon the bus stopped infront of them, Billy came jumping out and ran towards Mandy in great speed.

"Maaaaaaannnddddyyyyyyyyyy! Mandy! Mandy! Mandy! Mandy!"

A boy, now 3 inches bigger than her, jumped into her arms and started hugging and petting her. Mandy's confused expression didn't last long and made way for her trademark frown. Grim watched the show and couldn't resist a chuckle.  
Without any more delay she dropped Billy on the floor without saying a word, but he got up right away to give her even more presents.

"Grim forgot to bring you this, and this, and this, and this, oh, and I made this one on the way home. And I also brought us fishsticks, do you want fishsticks, Mandy?"

Grim's head popped up. "I want fishsticks!"

Mandy dropped the presents on the floor just as easily she dropped him and simply said: "Good to see you back."  
Then she turned around and headed back to the front door, but right before she made it to the entrance, Billy grabbed her shirt and pulled her back.

"HEY, I has an idea, do you want to eat at my place tonight, Mandy?"

"I want to eat at your place!" Grim said excited.

"And we can have an awesum sleepover party!"

"No, thanks." Mandy said, "School begins tomorrow, I need to rest."

"But Mandy..I wants us to celebrate my return. Didn't you miss me?"

Mandy silently looked at him, then at Grim, and then back at him and said: "I guess. I just don't have the time."  
She turned around again and went inside. Billy stared to the ground with an upset face.

"Don't let it get to you, man." Grim said, "She isn't worth it, and you know it."

"No." Billy replied, "If she's busy then I'll just bring her a nice treat tonight."

"She isn't busy, she's preparing doom on us all!"

But Billy stopped listening and already froliced to his own house to greet his parents. Grim shrugged and followed Billy's trail of dirt and sand to his house.  
With him back something exciting was bound to happen, and after these stressful months he was glad to see him.


	10. Giving Rabid Fangirls Their Way

Monday night. There was a full moon glowing in the sky together with a few stars, and there wasn't a single cloud present. Many crickets were to be heard, but that's usually the case with warm temperature.  
Billy wasn't too fond of the idea of having to walk through the tall grass in Mandy's garden where the little insects were hiding, also because he was afraid they might pounce him and steal the lasagna he made for her.  
The lasagna didn't smell too appealing, but that wasn't a big surprise since he added a few "special" ingredients.

Billy took a deep breath, and sprinted through her garden with a loud scream. He stopped right below her window, picked up a stone, threw it to her window, and later realized he picked up a handfull of crickets and squashed them onto her window. Naturally, he screamed again.

"Shut the heck up, Billy!" Mandy yelled from out of her room.

Billy wiped his hand off to the grass, only to see he was busy squashing more crickets, but Mandy warned him again before he could even open his mouth to let out a third scream. While holding in his tears he grabbed one of the trashcans that were standing on the side of the road and used it to climb to her window.  
He tapped on the glass.

"Mandy? Mandy, let me in, I brought you some yummies." he said invitingly.

"Go away, I'm not hungry."

"Oh, pluuuueeeeeeeze?" Billy squeeked.

"No, Bi-"

"Pluuuuuuueeeeeeeeeze?"

Mandy sighed. There's no way he was going to leave unless she let him in. And she wasn't waiting for him to go on "plueez-ing" behind her window all night long. She knew Billy.  
She stood up and opened her window with a jerk, causing Billy to get hit in the face and to fall off the trashcan. But it only took him 2 second to get back up and help himself through the open window.

"I didn't even know your window could be opened!" he said surprised.

"Let it be quick." Mandy said annoyed, while walking back to her bed. She sat down and folded her arms, waiting for whatever Billy wanted to bother her about this time.  
He jumped directly after her and shoved the food tray under her nose. The stench made tears flow out of her eyes.

"YUM YUM YUM, MANDY." Billy shouted in joy, "I maded you deliceouses lasasanagas!"

"GET IT AWAY FROM ME." Mandy barked.

"Try it, Mandy, it's reeeeeeeaaally good."

He removed the foil from the tray, took a fork out of his pocket and took a bite of his own suspicious meal to prove his point. Billy eats strange stuff all the time, but he seemed to really enjoy his dinner. Mandy stared at him with disgust.  
After he was finished he pulled the fork out of his mouth, leaving it with traces of drool and whatnot, and offered it to her.  
"See, reeeeeeeaaally good! Have a bite!"

"I want that stinky pile of puke out of my room, right now. And your dinner, too." Mandy growled. She lied back down and closed her eyes.  
"Good night!" she mumbled.

"Aw, don't go to sleep now. I really did my best this time, I won't have to call the hospital, I promise."

"No."

Billy hopped next to her bed and bended over.  
"..Don't make me tickle your ears."

Mandy jumped up. "If you touch me, you're dead, Billy!"  
As soon he caught her off-guard he shoved a forkfull of lasagna in her mouth. Mandy twitched.

"Hmmmmmmm." Billy smiled, "Good, huh?"

She wasn't sure what to do next; he just shoved his digusting dinner in her mouth with a disgusting fork. Her eyes searched for anything to dump the faul junk in, but failed to find something that really deserved to get smudged, so looked at Billy again who was grinning like an ass.  
Well, whatever she would do next, it would be denigrating anyway, so she started chewing the sticky, reeking substance, and swallowed.

"WELL?" Billy asked.

"It's..it's..really good."

To her surprise it was. It smelled terrible and it wasn't the easiest thing to chew, but it was most definitely the best thing Billy ever made.  
Though whatever it was, it wasn't lasagna.

"HURRAAAY!" Billy cheered, and as he jumped up and down in victory the lasagna got scattered all over the room.  
Mandy let out a big sigh of annoyance.

"Great. Now will you please go home?"

"..Actually, eh, I wanteded to talk with you. Is that okey?"

"_Talk_?"

"Yes...Grim told me you were in your room whole vacation long. And that you were being a big meanie towards him."

What? Was the dinner just a cover-up to come and play dr. Phil with her?  
Mandy turned angry. That Grim, what else did he tell him? And why should Billy care? He _never_ cares because he _never_ pays attention. He's an idiot.

Billy sat down on her bed and continued:  
"Are you sad, maybe?"

Mandy growled and turned her back to him.  
"No, Billy. Go home."

"Then what did you do all this time?"

"Nothing. Go home."

"..But you did miss me, right?"

"Whatever. Go home."

Obviously this wasn't going anywhere, so Billy stood up and slowly walked back to the open window. But there he stopped, and turned around.  
"..You aren't about to do something bad, are you?"

Mandy didn't reply.

"Are you?"

"Why should you care.." she suddenly said.

"What?"

Billy was shocked. He always cared about what she did or thought, as long he knew about it, that is. It almost insulted him how Mandy thought he didn't care about her.  
There wasn't a single moment he stopped thinking about her while being on camp, and he asked about her every time Grim came to visit. Whenever he wasn't working he was busy with a present for her, and how disturbing they might were, his intentions were good.** She still dared to think he didn't care?**

"I do care.." he said.

"You don't. You're stupid."

Billy took a few steps closer.  
"..Are you going to hurt someone?"

"Maybe." she replied indifferently, "What's the news?"

He took a few more steps and then said on a serious, but begging tone:  
"Could you...not do it?"

"Hurting people is in my blood."

"No, I mean _world domination_."

Mandy turned around.  
"How do you know that I'm going to?"

"..."

Mandy sat up and looked at him. Her face turned less annoyed and more relaxed, and then she said:  
"Do you remember when Grim was showing us our future in his glass ball? You knew this was coming. It's the future."

"But we can change the future." Billy quickly replied.

"No Billy, no matter what we do, we'll end up having the future we were destined to have."

"But in another future everyone haves had the same nose like me! But Grim fixed everything, so how do you know that that future isn't just another future that needs to be fixed by Grim?"

"The real future cannot be changed!"

"You gots yourself mixed up with the past, Mandy!" Billy said angrily, "You can change what's not yet happened, we can both has a normal life!"

After these words Mandy's relaxed expression turned furious.  
"Why are you trying to talk me out of this, you saw your future, **you're going to have it just fine!** Stop complaining."

"But I wants a different future..I want us t-"

"Tough luck, hay-for-brains."

Mandy got up and raised her fist.  
"I will take over this petty world, and there is no one who can stop me. THIS IS MY FUTURE, THIS IS MY RIGHT."

Billy started crying, but Mandy continued:  
"What are you sobbing for, stupid! This just proves how little you know me. You're surprised? Even after all those times I almost managed to succeed? Bah!"

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE JUST PLAYING." Billy cried.

"Playing? You really were a stupid kid, weren't you?"

"No!" Billy sobbed, "I was a _KID_, Mandy! And so were you, what was I supposed to think?"

"You're still stupid."

"I know I am..but that doesn't mean I'm still ignorant. I now know your evil schemes! EVIL SCHEMES!"

Mandy raised an eyebrow. He was so hard to take serious when he was raging like this.  
Billy wiped the foam from his mouth and calmed himself down. Then he gently held her hands and looked her deep in the eyes.

"Please, please, please, please, please, please..?"

"Keep your paws off me!" Mandy snarled as she removed her hands from his grip.  
"What happened to the old Billy? The clueless Billy, the Billy who laughs while being punched in the face?"

"That Billy grew up! He sees what you is up to and he wants you to stop! If he saw it earlier then he would has done this earlier."

Was that really so? Did Billy honestly hate Mandy's natural desire for power that much?  
She looked at him full of disbelief. No way. After everything they've been through he talks with her about it _now_? Grim must've given him the assignment to talk with her; he probably wanted to know what she did those past months.  
Well, now she told his little snitch, and he was allowed to go back and tell him. They were too late, anyway.

"..I think it would be best if you left, Billy." Mandy warned him.

He didn't move. Instead he folded his arms and said:  
"NO."

Mandy grinded her teeth. Who did he think he was! Just because he was able to pronounce a few sentences in a row without yelling any random words inbetween them doesn't make him a superhero. He was no match for her, he should leave as long he still got the chance.

"GET OUT." she ordered him.

"NO."

"GET OUT!"

"NO!"

Both of them had fire in their eyes, and the entire neighbourhood could hear them fighting. With each "get out" Mandy took a step forward and with each "no" Billy took a step forward, and it didn't take long untill both faces touched each other.  
The moment it did, the yelling stopped.

_..._  
It was like all the noises in the world turned into silence. It was like time stopped.  
Even the crickets outside were no longer to be heard, and the moon in the sky suddenly looked like it was bigger and glowing even brighter, lighting the entire room.

A couple of seconds passed, then Billy took a step back.

"I..I'm sorry, Mandy, I didn't mean to, will you forgive me..?" he said nervously.

But Mandy just stood there.  
What did just happen? Something like this wasn't supposed to happen, _it's like giving rabid fangirls their way_!

It didn't take long untill her shocked expression turned neutral. She stared at him without any emotion in her eyes, and then said with a calm voice:  
"Good night, Billy."

She walked back to bed and lied down. She was like a ghost. Completely lifeless.  
Billy watched her for a while, and then headed to the window. Before leaving he said:  
"So..you're not going to do anything bad, right?"

"Sure, Billy."

"You promise?"

"Sure, Billy."

A little smile appeared on his face and he jumped out of the window, causing a loud thud, the sound of attacking crickets, and even more screaming to be heard from outside.

Mandy was lying on her back, staring at the ceiling. She didn't blink even once.  
_..The filthy troll kissed her. He actually kissed her just now._ It wasn't a mere accident, she had her eyes and ears open the entire time, she **wasn't** imagining things. One moment she heard him and herself shouting to each other, and the next she saw how Billy closed his eyes and smashed his big head into hers.  
She _actually_ felt his lips kissing hers.

She experienced many awkward situations with him, but this left her confused beyond reason. Her thoughts were all mixed up.  
What was she thinking right now, anyway? Many things, but nothing she could focus herself on.  
_And what did she tell Billy just now?_ Was Billy still there?..

She woke up from her trance and looked around, but he was nowhere to be found. She looked at her alarm clock; it seemed 2 hours had passed after Billy barged in to bring his lasagna.  
She tried to remember what happened in the time between the kiss and his departure, but had troubles doing so. Her mind went completely blank the second after Billy..did that dispicable thing.

She let out a deep sigh.  
Did her mind honestly got messed up by the kiss of a boy? Why? Why now? He kissed her before when they were 10, and Irwin kissed her more than once and it never gave the same result. And this was not the first time Billy got away without a good beating for kissing her, unlike Irwin. Well, she knew this time it was different, but...why was it?

Mandy tried to calm herself down. Maybe it wasn't the kiss, but the element of surprise. Yes, that's it. Of all people she didn't expect him to do something like this. Or did she?_  
..._  
This was getting ridiculous! How could she ever become the world leader if she gets petrified by a simple kiss? She must be strong.

**Wait. It suddenly came back to her:**

_"So..you're not going to do anything bad, right?"_

_"Sure, Billy."_

_"You promise?"_

_"Sure, Billy."_

Now she remembered.  
She felt really stupid now, she acted like a babbling buffoon. What on Earth was she was saying? She had no intentions to give up her goal, why couldn't she just say so?

Mandy tried to cheer herself up with thoughts like "it wasn't the kiss, he probably put something in the lasagna" and "Billy's an imbecile, he probably forgot all about this conversation the very next morning", anything would do, as long she didn't give in to the confusion that just took over her mind.

She closed her eyes. She just wanted to go to sleep right now, and hoped that both she and Billy would forget the whole thing as soon as possible. But even now she kept hearing Billy's voice echo through her head:_ "Please, please, please, please, please, please..?"  
_Maybe I..should stop doing this, she thought. **What?** NO.  
Mandy slapped herself in the face. What was the matter with her! Why would she even consider something like this? Was she under a spell or something?

"..Yes. A spell._"  
_  
Suddenly it all made sense to her. This _had_ to be the work of Grim.


	11. Hakuna Matata Smile

The next day was just as warm and sunny as the day before, and it didn't really encourage anyone to go to school or to work. This was certainly a rare September month.

Billy and Mandy were on their way to school, and to Mandy's surprise Billy looked like he forgot all about yesterday, as he was dancing and singing his usual unidentifiable songs while greeting every single person he spotted on the way. Of course she told herself she was certain he'd forget, but it's not like she expected it to be so easy. It was more like she "hoped" he'd forget.  
He didn't mention any of it all morning, and neither did he treat her any differently. It was nice, but it also worried her; everyone likes people to shut up about awkward situations they might've shared, but when they actually do so you only feel worse because you just know that everytime that person looks at you with a big "Hakuna Matata"-smile they have all kinds of horrible, if not, disturbing thoughts about you running through their head. _  
No way_ somebody could forget an entire event just because you want them to. But then again, Billy was stupid. There could be a chance he _did_ forget, didn't even realize what he did, or simply doesn't consider it important.  
That Billy. Such a little brain, yet nobody knows what's in it.

When they were almost there Mandy thought it was the right time to ask him if he brought Grim. She was still planning to ask him a few things, and Billy didn't have to be around when she did.  
He turned around.  
"Eh, right here in my backpack, why you ask?"

"None of your concern, I just want to ask him something."

He slowed down his pace and walked next to her.  
"Oooooh, are you two's going to talk about what to give me for my birthday?"

"Your birthday is nowhere close to soon, Billy."

"But you are, RIGHT?"

"No."

"GET ME THE GREEN ONE."

"The green _what_?"

"AND NOT THE ONE WITH THE HORNS."

"Billy, stop being stupid, we're not.."

**"THE GREEN ONE."**

Mandy sighed. She didn't have time for this nonsense again. She took his backpack, and kicked him all the way to the school's entrance.  
"See ya insiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide...!" Billy shouted as he was flying through the air.

Now that he was out of the way she could use the little time she had alone with Grim. That Grim..just by thinking of him made her blood boil.  
Mandy opened the bag and emptied it on the floor, causing Grim's bones, half-eaten books, 3/4-eaten pencils and tons of other random objects to hit the ground.  
"Okey Grim, what did you do." she said.

"Uh. I..don't know what you're talking about." Grim replied, while picking up his bones. "..but a good morning to you, too."

"**You let Billy curse me.** Don't play dumb and cough it up already, I have school today." Mandy snarled.

Grim looked at her with great confusion.  
"Really girl, I tink it's _you_ who is wasting _my_ time rite now, and I don't even have anyting better to do rite now."

Mandy tried to calm herself down.  
"You..gave..Billy..the assignment to curse me last night."

"What? You're not making any sense, I did no such ting."

"Tell me, Grim, was it Billy's dinner?"

"Well, you know you shouldn't eat anyting dat boy prepares. I'm not surprised you act all paranoid now."

"I know you cursed me."

"I didn't."

"You did."

"I didn't!"

Mandy grabbed his robe and rammed him onto the ground.  
"You are a dirty, little sneak, Grim.." she panted, "..you can't bear being left out on the smallest things and you've always had the need to know everything, even when you say you don't care. Now..what did you and Billy talk about last night at the dinner table? You'd better tell me before I'll have to hurt you."

"YOU'RE MAD!" Grim cried.

**"What did you talk about!"**

"The usual! Himself, you, food, boogers, evil mailmen, and taking over my job!"

"_Me_, huh? Care to be more specific, dead boy? Did you two come up with a nice little plan to disable me?"

Before he could answer, the schoolbell rang. He removed himself from her grip and got up.  
"I'd like to continue our scary conversation, but no thanks. You'd better get your paranoid butt inside. Goodbye."

Grim pulled his robe straight and walked towards a grocery store at the other side of the road, getting away from Mandy as soon as possible, but still doing so in style.  
That settled it. It had to be true, it was so obvious. Of course she could've gotten a more direct answer out of him in just a few seconds if she really tried, but why bother, they'd see each other again this evening anyway. Otherwise she could always approach Billy about the matter, but that would mean she'd have to bring yesterday back up, and she wasn't really looking forward to that. Besides, it was clear that Grim was scared and tried to get out of it, so that ment her assumptions were right. Right?  
Well, not that she could ask him again, and it would be wiser to go to school first.

She entered the building and checked her schedule to see where she had her first subject; _art in room 108_. Not a common subject to start your day with, but well, after a long vacation nobody would be too excited to start with history or math on the first day. She went up the stairs and headed to the door that said "108". All the halls were empty and all the classrooms were filled with students; she was late, but she didn't really care. Mandy was one of the smartest students in school, she could take these risks. It's not like they were going to suspend her.  
She opened the door with a loud wack.

"Mandy, good to see you're still alive." the teacher said sarcastically.

Billy, Mandy, and all their "friends" from elementary school ended up in the same high school. Mainly because Endsville only has one high school.  
Every teacher had the priviledge to meet with the infamous Billy and Mandy, and dispised them the very minute they did. And of course Mindy was everyone's favourite again. Some things never change, especially in cartoons.

Mandy ignored the teacher, grabbed a blank sheet from the pile on her desk, took an empty seat, and started sketching the model standing infront of class. While most of the other students were already halfway done, it took her only a few seconds to catch on. Again, her being late didn't mean a thing.  
Suddenly she heard a familiar voice:  
"Heeeey, MAN-DY. Nice model, don't you think?"

Great. Mandy slightly tilted her head and saw Mindy sitting next to her all of the sudden, with that overused, dumb smirk on her face. She wore the same costume as in elementary school, and still had those same freckles on her face. The only change she had was her hair, which was now loose and had more model.

"Hello, Mindy. Funny to see you here, especially considering I skipped a class and you were told you were too stupid to even stay in high school." Mandy said.

"They made a GREAT mistake and realized so on time." she replied with a loud voice.

Mindy always had this obsession with her. She wanted to know where she was, what she was doing, and why she was doing it. That's why it wasn't a big surprise her parents payed the school to let her pass _and_ to put her in the same class, where she could keep an eye on her and make her feel miserable for her own pleasure.  
Mandy, blunt as she was, told Mindy her exact thoughts.

"WHAT? I EVER!" Mindy shouted insulted, "I'm here because I'm smart, MAN-DY."

"Whatever."

It was pointless to argue with her, she always wanted to be right, even when she knew she was wrong.  
"Whatever." Mindy repeated, and continued drawing what seemed to be herself, rather than the model. What a cow.

Mandy looked at the clock that was located on the wall to her left. Only 1 minute passed? Normally when she talks to an idiot time flies, yet Mindy was proven to be a rare exception. Though that 1 minute was a minute she'd never get back, and she was sorry for that.  
She focused back on her drawing, which didn't even look half that bad. She was never interested in art and drawing, but she was quite talented. Like in most things, actually. The model in her drawing had nice curves and a smooth face. The smile was warm and welcoming, as were the eyes. When it was almost finished she put her pencil down to take a long, good look at her work.  
Then it hit her..

It was Billy.


	12. Yo

How..

She looked at the model.  
It **_was_** Billy. Naked.

"HIIIIIIIIIIII, MANDY." he greeted her.

If Grim was here he'd say _"How did we miss dat?"_.  
Mandy's eyes started to water by the sight of his bare body. She immediately tried to cover his image with her own drawing, what obviously wasn't any better. In frustration she crumbled it and moved her eyes away to Pud'n sitting on her left, who was surprisingly concentrated on his drawing. Pud'n managed to join the same class she was in, since it seemed he was smarter than everyone thought he was. But then again, just because you cry about everything doesn't mean you're dumb.

"What are you doing here, Billy?" Mandy dared to ask.

"Well, I drowned the real model in a spoon with yoghurt when I tried to open my locker, what wasn't a locker but ms. Stevens pet wig, so I got scared and runned around the school screaming "fire" for fun because it matches so well with the hystericaling running, but then everyone's thought there was a fire, and I said "No, there is no fire, I said it for fun", and then some babe said "Hey, you have nice teeth when you're screaming in horror, and our model just died", and that babe is the teacher over there, and that's how I saved Christmas."

The entire class was silent.  
Mandy looked at the clock. 50 minutes had passed.  
"Right on time, Billy. Now get dressed and get lost before I get sick."

The bell rang and everybody stood up. When Mandy was about to leave the classroom Billy already showed up behind her, dressed and well.  
"Sooo, where are we going to?" he asked.

Mandy stared at him.  
"You aren't coming with me."

"Why not?"

"Because we're no longer in the same class, in case nobody told you. And didn't you had a class to attend to yourself?"

"I don't know."

"Check your schedule, idiot."

"Why? I don't has any money to order something."

Before Mandy could reply she got paralyzed by a terrible stench that hit her "spot-where-a-nose-would-be". It smelled like a combination of many expensive deodorants and alot of cheap perfumes. Billy didn't seem to notice the smell, but he did start waving to the cause.  
She turned around and recognized the cause, too.

"Yoooooooooooo..."

Oh no.

"..you're looking fine, girl!"

"REALLY? THANKS!" Billy replied with a smile.

"I SAID _"GIRL"_, YO. ARE YOU A GIRL, YO?"

"Aren't we all in a way?"

"No!"

Mandy rolled her eyes.  
"Hello, Irwin. Still fat and useless as ever, I see." she interrupted them.

Irwin winked at her.  
"Chicks like to hold on to something, chick."

"Is that why girls look like camels under their shirts?" Billy asked.

"No, yo. Puberty pulls their chest."

Mandy didn't really have the need to listen to two teenage morons talking about the female body, so decided to "run for it". But both Billy and Irwin started to follow her, while having more disturbing discussions. She increased her speed, but they didn't leave her back.  
Being with Billy alone was already a challenge, but in combination with Irwin it was getting close to unbearable. She did manage to get him off her back all Summer vacation long, though he did ring her doorbell a few times, but wasn't being a serious bother. Unlike the past few years.

"Don't you two have a class to attend to?" she growled.

"Nope, for the next two hours my schedule is completely blanco, yo..just like your perfect angelic skin, my love."

"And I don't know something about anything, so no idea." Billy followed.

"Relax, you're in the same class as me, yo. Where were you, anyway?"

"Presenting my pencil in Mandy's art class."

Mandy shivered. That joke alone was good enough to give this story an "M" rating.

"Cool. Sooo, where are we going to?" Irwin asked.

Just grand, _another_ one. You'd think that Irwin would know better than Billy because he always had the title of "nerd", even though only his clothes and glasses made him look like one. But he obviously was no genius.  
At least he stopped pretending; he lost the glasses, wore a loose yellow blouse, green pants, a small earring in his right ear, and had a little beard. He looked pretty adult-looking for a 15-year-old, but his behaviour never changed.

"There's no point in following me, we're not in the same class anymore." Mandy replied.

"We can walk you to the door?" Billy said.

"No, you're annoying, just leave me. I'll talk to you donkeys later."

Billy and Irwin stopped and watched her walk away. Irwin scratched his head.  
"Strange, yo. Usually she doesn't mind us folowing her."

Billy shrugged.  
"She probably hates me because I gave her a kissy last night."

"Oh."

"_..._"

**"YO?"**

"Yo." Billy echoed.

"No, you kissed Mandy?"

"..Yeah, last night in her room."

"In her room? At night? WHY?"

"I..don't..know?"

Irwin lost his temper. He grabbed Billy by the shirt and pulled him into the air.  
"WHY. WHY WOULD YOU DO SUCH A THING, YOU KNOW **_I_** LIKE MANDY."

"EEK! I DON'T KNOW!" Billy cried.

"You'd better break up with her before I pound yo face, yo!"

"WHAT, MANDY IS NOT MY GURLFRIEND! And..if you think she is then why are you so angry?"

"Well, I didn't think you two actually _did something_. No one does."

Entire Endsville thought Billy and Mandy had a relationship, but indeed no one could even imagine them holding hands. It was a strange thought, but everyone was thinking it.  
Before Irwin was about to punch him they heard a teacher calling from the other side of the hall:  
"Hey, what's going on over there?"

"Oh, eh.." Irwin stuttered, and put Billy back down on the floor. "I was just threatening my best friend for making out with my love interest, sir."

"Yeah."

"...Okey." the teacher said, and carried on.

Irwin turned back to Billy.  
"Just stay out of her way, yo!"

"Yep."

"...DON'T JUST SAY "YEP", DOESN'T MANDY MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU?" Irwin scolded him.

"But you just said.."

Irwin raised his hand suggesting him to shut it.  
"You make me sick!...Yo!"

He snapped his fingers and walked away. He entered a room that said "Janitor", and 5 seconds later he came back out, looked at Billy, snapped his fingers again, and moved on like nothing happened. It wasn't a very intimidating exit, but Billy knew he wasn't _really_ angry with him. This wasn't the first time they got in a "fight", so his outburst didn't worry him.  
He turned around and decided to follow Mandy's tracks to her classroom. It's not like Billy didn't hear Mandy's "no", it's just that he didn't listen. He decided to join all her classes the rest of the day, and even after every teacher told him he was in the wrong class, he was certain he belonged there. He didn't know any better; he was never seperated from Mandy before. He simply didn't want to acknowledge it because he never could handle change very well.  
After a while Irwin joined in, too, just to keep an eye on Billy and to be with "his little cream pie".

At the end of the day Mandy managed to get rid of Irwin, but was still stuck with Billy. Being her neighbour and friend, that's no surprise, but she still felt awkward being around him and just wanted to be alone for the rest of the day.  
Then again, now Irwin was gone this would be the right time to ask him about Grim's spell. But was she really able to do so without reminding him of the kiss?

She looked at Billy, who was cheerful as ever and in the middle of telling one of his famous, uncalled-for life experiences. He made his life sound it was one great adventure after another. But how lame these "adventures" might were in reality, it still made anyone else's life sound grey and dull. Even Mandy's. Somehow you could do nothing but adore his talent of putting on socks sound exciting.  
Mandy just kept on staring at him till the moment she could no longer understand the words he was saying. She only saw his lips moving and heard the mere noise of his voice. It was like she was daydreaming.  
Was she really that bored by him, or was she mesmerized?

He was so into his story..maybe she shouldn't ask him about the curse. It would only be rude to interrupt him, wouldn't it? And Grim would be there any minute, and asking him for any clarifications instead of Billy would save her from any possible embarrasment.

"Hey!"

She awoke from her trance.  
"What?" she mumbled slightly confused.

"If I can eat at your place tonight!"

"..Better not, we're eating rat today."

"Wow, you're French?"

"..But I'd like to take Grim off your back tonight. He can have dinner at my place."

"That's okey, Grim can stay with m.."

"I SAID: _I'd like to take Grim off your back tonight_." she hissed.

"Oh. Yes. But Grim promised we were going to make our own boardgames today." Billy pouted.

"Sorry I'll have to take your best buddy from you, but it's my turn."

"Oh, he isn't my best buddy." he smiled.

"Really, then who is?" Mandy asked, trying to sound interested.

"**You** are my best buddy, silly."


End file.
